1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) operation, and more particularly, to warranty monitoring and enforcement for an IC including a design structure for the IC.
2. Background Art
Practically all products made have some sort of warranty associated therewith. Typically, most warranties have limits prescribed by the manufacturer after which the warranty is unenforceable or changed. In the integrated circuit (IC) industry, warranty limits are generally based upon a date of purchase or whether the IC is used outside of specified, acceptable operational parameters. IC warranty limits may include, for example, power-on hours, temperature limits, voltage limits, or any environmental or usage parameters. With ICs, other than the date of purchase and the rare occurrence where an end-user knows the parameters under which an IC operates, operational data regarding the IC is typically unavailable. Consequently, enforcement of warranty limits for ICs is difficult. Furthermore, in most cases, the end-user is not aware of the status of warranty limiting parameters of the IC, and cannot avoid warranty limiting events.